Of Backrubs and Swamp Gas
by Heavy Metal Queen
Summary: Pippin and Aragorn Pre-slash


Title: Of Back Rubs and Swamp Gas   
  
Author: Lady Harvest (carryonkerion@hotmail.com)   
  
Pairing: Pippin/Aragorn   
  
Rating: G   
  
Archive: Oh please, please do! Just lemme know.   
  
Summary: Just a fluffy little piece of work. Pippin's   
  
stiff, cold and hungry. Strider wants to help ^_^   
  
Disclaimer: LOTR does not belong to me. It belongs to   
  
Tolkien, and those spiffy movie people. But if only they'd   
  
let me borrow Strider for a day...just one day... *dreamy   
  
sigh*   
  
Warning: None   
  
Authors Note: This is set in the Midgewater Marshes, a   
  
spiffy little scene on the Extended DVD. Just thought I'd   
  
clarify.   
  
  
  
~ Of Back Rubs and Swamp Gas ~   
  
  
  
" You cant do this you know, its not right. " That was   
  
Frodo's soft voice, and it sounded almost muffled by the   
  
thick swamp air. Pippin just merely made a face, going back   
  
to prowling through Strider's bags as quietly as he could.   
  
" Pippin..." That was Frodo again. Pippin's eyes raised to   
  
him, and he sighed, scampering away from the bag. " Fine,   
  
fine. But I'm *hungry*. " There was a deep sigh in Pippin's   
  
voice. It was a grievous thing to come between a hobbit and   
  
his hunger. It just wasn't right. He curled up next to the   
  
others, and watched Sam snuggle happily back into Frodo's   
  
warmth. He wasn't worried about food, of course. He was   
  
right giddy at having his "Mr. Frodo" close enough to lay   
  
bodily with. But Pippin was happy for him. He knew he   
  
himself was wishing for the comfort of someone, anyone...   
  
and Merry was snoring away, snuggled to Sam's other side.   
  
It was a hard thing, being the odd hobbit out.   
  
  
  
As the moon rose full and pregnant with light over the   
  
humid swamp, Pippin was roused from his light sleep by the   
  
grumbling of his stomach. He rolled over, bringing his   
  
knees to his chest in an effort to quell the diabolical   
  
rumbles. But alas, this was the tummy of a hobbit, and it   
  
didn't take well to missing supper. Sure, he'd had dinner,   
  
but what about tea? Elevensies? Second breakfast for   
  
Shire's sake! It was a hard thing to swallow. The thought   
  
of swallowing sent another grumble through him, and he   
  
stood, his mouth now grumbling in unison with his stomach.   
  
  
  
" S' not fair...not fair at all, that Ranger is right   
  
starving us! " He spoke in an indignified whisper to   
  
himself. As quietly as he could, he crept over to the small   
  
leather bag, his eyes darting up to watch the steady   
  
movement of Strider's chest. If he just keep sleeping... "   
  
Can I ask what you're doing, Master Took? " Pippin froze   
  
guiltily, one tiny hand poised on the clasp of the leather   
  
bag. Strider's voice was soft, and there was a vague sound   
  
of amusement, floating in there somewhere. " I was...I was   
  
just.. " He pursed his lips, bringing his hands together to   
  
wring them in front of his small shirt. His lip pushed out   
  
almost comically, his eyes filling with water. " I was   
  
*hungry* ! " Pippin lowered his voice when he heard Merry   
  
snort. Strider just watched him silently for a moment, his   
  
head canted to a curious angle. " Do Hobbits only think of   
  
their stomachs, even when followed with such danger? "   
  
  
  
He didn't go into detail, trying not to scare the hobbit   
  
too much. A healthy dose of fear was one thing, but   
  
terrifying the poor lad just wasn't nessicary. Pippin's   
  
gentle face took on an air of hurt, and Strider instantly   
  
regretted his somewhat sharp tone. These poor little   
  
creatures had the biggest hearts he had ever seen, and he   
  
found himself regularly treading on proverbial toes, when   
  
it came to their feelings. The hurt on Pippin's face seemed   
  
to swell for a moment, and much to Strider's surprise, it   
  
swerved quickly into anger. " Well, I wouldn't have to go   
  
snoopin' through your things at night if you'd just let us   
  
eat, right proper! " Strider only blinked for a long   
  
moment, before a subdued smile touched his lips.   
  
  
  
" Anger becomes you, Master Took. " His voice lowered a   
  
notch, almost as if to make up for Pippin's raised tone.   
  
Pippin faltered, and looked over at the Ranger, his eyes   
  
full of bewilderment. The very thought of this man, this   
  
Ranger flirting with him, was a concept just a little too   
  
quick for the naive hobbit's mind. " Wh...What do you   
  
mean?? " All traces of anger were gone from his smooth   
  
little face. He was lost somewhere between innocent   
  
confusion, and indignation. He wasn't quite sure how to   
  
take the smile that Strider wasn't trying very hard to   
  
hide.   
  
  
  
" Nothing more than I said, little one. " His laid his   
  
hands out, palms up in front of him in a placating gesture.   
  
" You hobbits are such curious little creatures... "   
  
Strider's voice took on a misty edge, like he was talking   
  
more to himself, than to Pippin. " Able to wear any emotion   
  
openly on such smooth...faces. " He'd had to stop himself.   
  
The word beautiful had been dangerously close to leaving   
  
his mouth. And as much as he enjoyed watching the emotions   
  
fly across Pippin's sweet face, he wasn't sure if Pippin   
  
was ready for such open honesty. Or if he, himself was, for   
  
that matter.   
  
  
  
Pippin watched the man, that look of bewilderment fading,   
  
but slowly. He wasn't...he could of been...was   
  
he...flirting? Pippin wasn't quite sure how to handle that   
  
thought. Sure, he'd instantly been taken with the dashing   
  
Ranger, but who wouldn't have been? It fascinated him to   
  
watch someone with so much strength, speak with such a   
  
gentle manner. A manner that Pippin believed, was natural   
  
to Strider. He pulled his lower lip into his mouth,   
  
worrying on it methodically with his teeth. He needed time,   
  
a moment to collect himself, and decide what he should say   
  
in return. But luckily, Strider seemed apt to wait.   
  
  
  
After what seemed like hours, but what couldn't have been   
  
more than a minute of two, the hobbit spoke. " You're   
  
attractive, Strider. " He spoke with certainty, nodding his   
  
head a bit to emphasize his point. Strider however,   
  
couldn't bite back his amused chuckle. " Well, its quite   
  
pleasing to hear that from you, Pippin. " At the moment,   
  
the hobbit decided that he *really* liked the sound of his   
  
name from those full, rosebud lips. He took a hesitant step   
  
forward, and then another, until he was standing even with   
  
the man's shoulder. He raised his face to the night sky,   
  
his eyes dropping closed. " Say it again? " It was barely   
  
more than a whisper in the air, and it took Strider a   
  
moment to fully decipher the sultry request. He was too   
  
busy being taken aback by the huskyness that had suddenly   
  
invaded the young hobbit's voice. " Pippin. " If the sweet   
  
huskyness of Pippin's voice wasn't enough, his own voice   
  
cracked in a very un-manly fashion.   
  
  
  
" Thats nice. I like it. " There was more, but suddenly   
  
Pippin was silenced by the warm, heavy hand on his back. He   
  
stood stock still for a moment, not even realizing he was   
  
holding his breath. Then Strider's fingers started moving   
  
across the smooth expanse of his shirt, his calluses   
  
causing pleasing little ripples of electricity down his   
  
spine. " Could you...a little lower? " Strider's breath   
  
hitched in his throat, and after a moment, he cursed   
  
himself mentally. The young one wasn't asking for *that*,   
  
he simply wanted his back rub just a little further down.   
  
So he lowered his hand inch by inch, still smoothing and   
  
massaging, until he heard the tell tale " aah" . "   
  
There...thats nice...I like it.."   
  
  
  
The little hobbits face was still raised to the sky and he   
  
was rocking backwards into the touch just slightly. All the   
  
tenseness from sleeping on the ground, was fading slowly   
  
out of his body. Strider's hand was warm, and with it   
  
brought the security that Pippin had been seeking,   
  
subliminally, if nothing else. It wasn't exactly torture to   
  
the ranger either. Pippin's tiny body was smooth, and sweet   
  
in a way that almost felt guilty. It reminded him of a doll   
  
that his mother owned, when he was a child. It was the most   
  
beautiful creature Strider had laid his eyes on, and   
  
because of that very fact, he was terrified to touch it. It   
  
had smooth, milky skin, and bright blue eyes. And he just   
  
knew the moment his clumsy, young hands laid upon it, that   
  
its stillness, and serenity would be broken.   
  
  
  
" Strider? " Pippin was looking over his shoulder at the   
  
ranger, a curled strand falling almost completely into his   
  
eyes. The reassuring smile of the hobbit brought Strider   
  
back out of his trance. Pippin wasn't a doll, and wouldn't   
  
break, and Strider was no longer a gangly boy. His hands   
  
had seen many wars, but they still knew the gentleness   
  
women, and creatures such as hobbits, craved. Strider   
  
reached out, almost without thought, and gently swiped the   
  
curl away from Pippin's eyes. He didn't want anything to   
  
obscure his view. " Does that make it my turn? " Pippin   
  
asked eagerly. Strider wanted to kick himself at the moment   
  
of hot glee that passed through him. It'd been too long   
  
since he'd last had a lover, too long... " Your turn? " He   
  
had one eyebrow raised, watching as the little one hopped   
  
up on the rock behind him.   
  
  
  
" My mum, I used to give her rubs all the time...only,   
  
those were her feet, but there's not much difference. "   
  
Pippin spoke with an easy confidence, as his small hands   
  
began to work over the taut muscles of Strider's shoulders.   
  
He wouldn't be able to give them the good hard squeeze they   
  
needed to ease the knots, but the feeling was plenty   
  
soothing. Little hobbit hands moved over his muscles in a   
  
magical fashion, relieving aches he didn't know he had. "   
  
Mm...you're doing wonderfully, Master Took. " Pippin took a   
  
heady little thrill over the fact that Strider's head was   
  
tipped back slightly, and his eyes were closed. He knew   
  
there was no way the man was faking the cat-like look of   
  
pleasure on his rugged features.   
  
  
  
" Pippin. " Strider nodded, a small smile creeping up on   
  
his lips as he spoke the word in return. "Pippin. "   
  
  
  
~ End ~ 


End file.
